


elevator boy

by pastelish



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, feat. the rest of the dreamies in a future chapter, first multi chapter fic in a while, pray for me yall
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-10-05 14:46:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10310603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastelish/pseuds/pastelish
Summary: A new family recently moves in to the apartment next door and Chenle finds himself painfully pining after the young teen named Jisung.Apartment!AU; pure fluff, Chenle and Jisung have crushes on each other and Renjun and Chenle are roommates





	1. neighbor

**Author's Note:**

> I started working on this when I finished up my first one shot and man, let me tell you it has been one Wild ride jsjaijd//
> 
> also, dreamies are around a year older here so renjun is 17, jisung and chenle are 16, etc. anyway, i hope you enjoy~

Chenle could feel his fingertips going numb. He stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets— to prevent any of his appendages from freezing off —and gazed up at the clumpy sky.

The smooth, grey pavement was slippery underneath his feet as his heels kicked at the wet slosh from the occasional icy puddle. It was nearly winter season around their area, and the chill air already seemed to be below zero's.

Current weather had begun foreshadowing future snow too, showing in the dropped temperatures and unclear skies. It was overcast today with a light sprinkling of showers, the teens making their way back to their apartment building from grocery shopping.

Putting his hands in his pockets caused the grocery bags he was holding to hit his thigh with every step he took. He was too consumed in his own thoughts to notice though, until he heard a voice cut in between the rumbling noises of the cars on the road.

"Let me take that for you."

Chenle blinked. Renjun was walking alongside him, removing one of the plastic bags from his fingers.

"It'll get crushed."

  _Oh. The eggs._

The younger chuckles, "Ah, sorry."

Renjun smiles, cradling the package into the crook of his arm. "What are you thinking about?"

A grin lights up his face. "Snow."

"You're right." The older nods at his excitement, "It's going to be snowing sooner or later."

"I can't wait until it does; it means more snowball fights and more times to win for me!" He doesn't look over at Renjun, but he knew full well the other boy was rolling his eyes.

"Bragging about winning snowball fights won't get you anywhere in life, Lele." He snorted.

Chenle's a few paces in front of him and he shrugs. "Winning things is always nice," he explains. "like how I'll beat you to the building, race you!"

The younger teen was bolting before Renjun could even blink.

"H-Hey! Chenle, The pavement is still wet, you could trip!"

Either he couldn't hear, or he had chosen to ignore him completely because Chenle continued to speed down the sidewalk, showing no signs of acknowledgement of the fact that Renjun had even spoken. Admittedly, it was most likely the latter.

Chenle could act much like a child sometimes, requiring a chunk of the older teen's patience to corral him back into place. Usually, he was ecstatic to join in on the younger boy's antics, but he really didn't want to risk them sliding and injuring themselves.

"Chenle!" Renjun speedwalked right after him, preferring to limit the chances of breaking something, while also not wanting to be left behind.

Chenle grinned. The cold felt good on his cheeks as he maneuvered from sideblock to sideblock, bags in hand rustling from the wind. He ran, despite knowing Renjun was now way behind him until he reached his destination and clambered up the short flight of stairs to the sliding doors of their apartment building. He leaned on his knees to catch his breath.

Thinking about it now, he regretted expending so much energy on an unnecessary game. He won though and he had fun so the energy loss wasn't much of a defeat if he thought of it that way. The young boy surveyed the path where he came from; not a trace of Renjun.

Although fleeting, Chenle took note that the older would most likely berate him for this the moment he'd catch up. Perhaps maybe it wasn't the best idea to leave him behind after all.

As he stood contemplating if he should run back to Renjun or not, he sensed a wave of warmth flood in from the opening of the sliding doors, body instinctively turning towards the direction of the heat.

Chenle's heart skipped a beat.

A boy stood before him. He was a bit taller than Chenle with a small face framed by brown waves of fluffy hair. He sported an oversized pink sweater— fingertips peeking from beneath the cuffs —and dark jeans.

 _Cute_.

The boy stared.

Chenle almost took a step back from the sheer amount of focus the other teen was directing at him. He couldn't have created problems with someone before they'd even met, right?

The boy fidgets, rocks back and forth on his heels before bowing his head hesitantly, "Excuse me."

There's a beat of silence as he stands dumbfounded. Soon after, Chenle realizes his mistake and his face erupts with color. "I'm sorry." he laughed, stepping out of the way, and the urge to face palm is strong. _You were blocking him from leaving the building, why else would he have been staring at you?_

Chenle's gaze remained on the teen's back after he bowed his head, even as he made his way down the steps to a car parked on the curb. There are two middle aged looking adults— probably his parents —and a boy who looked around his early twenties, unloading a heavier box from the trunk. Chenle catches himself staring.

He roughly shook his head and stepped into the lobby, admitting to himself that his curiousity was probably a bit creepy.

Chenle found people who attracted his attention now and then, so this wasn't unusual. Although, they would last only for a little while before eventually receding to the depths of his mind. He acknowledged the questions blooming from said depths, but ignored it. The chances of meeting him again were unlikely anyway.

"Chenle!"

He moved to the direction of the call and felt a grin spreading on his face, event with the boy pushed aside. The middle-aged man calling behind the counter was the landlord of the building. He had a fairly average-sized build with dark brown hair and glasses. The two had grown close to each other the past couple years when he and Chenle's father became friends and whenever Chenle required someone to look after him.

"Hey, Ari." He giggled, approaching the counter.

Ari smiled down at him. "You have my drink?"

"Yep!" Chenle fished the green tea bottle out of one of the bags, handing it over to him. "Here's the change too."

"Thank you." He twisted the cap off with a flick of a wrist and took the offered money into his palm. "Where's Renjun?"

At the mention of his name, Chenle gasped, covering his own mouth and looking around as if he was caught. "I ran away from Renjun, don't tell him I'm here please." He crouched below the counter and begun to tip toe across the room to the elevators, failing to suppress his giggles. "He might come after me since I just left him out there."

"But you guys live in the same apartment." Ari laughed.

"Shhh." Chenle hushed the elder.

"Alright, watch yourself." he sipped at his drink with a smile, "Don't get beaten up."

Chenle grimaces in memory of past experiences where he had pissed off the older teen as he stepped onto the elevator. "Hopefully not," He saluted, pressing their floor button. "Byyee."

Ari waved back with a grin and went back to clicking away on the computer for whatever his management job needed to take care of.

Chenle hummed along to the familiar elevator music, studying the intricate patterns of the carpet on the floor and examining himself from the mirrors lining the walls.

With the elevators paralleling the entrance doors, anyone entering the building could see who was using them. It wouldn't be good if Renjun caught him in the act of escaping before he could even attempt to escape. But someone was currently in his line of sight to the entrance. He couldn't see their face because the person was shakily attempting to handle more than six cardboard boxes at a time. He stepped on the door lines to prevent them from closing.

"Hey, let me help you with that." He reached over and unloaded three boxes off the person.

Chenle's eyes windened, his grip loosening. It was _him_ again. The boxes slipped just a bit from his arms, but he caught it. The boy luckily didn't see his slip up.

"Th-thank you." he stuttered, bowing and entering the elevator. His mind screamed. _Funny_ , hadn't he just mentioned something about "the zero chances of meeting him again"? Yet here he was. Chenle could examine him from their close proximity and he found his awkwardness and nervous demeanor terribly endearing.

"You're welcome," Chenle smiled. "Floor?"

"Fourth."

Chenle nearly whiplashed himself with how quick he spun around.

"Wait, what? I'm on the fourth too."

The surprise that crosses the boy's features is genuine and Chenle finds it the most innocent thing he'd seen his entire week. He stepped back to stand beside him, having pressed the floor button earlier. The brunette still looked shaken up by the new information.

"Wah, that's such a coincidence..."

"Right!" Chenle leans toward the teen and giggles. "You guys are just moving in?"

He nods.

"If you guys have any questions concerning the apartment, make sure you contact the landlord, Ari, on the first floor or you can come to me." he explained, "I know him personally so I can help you get in touch with him."

"Thank you." He bows his head for the hundredth time.

The elevator becomes silent and Chenle dares to sneak glances at the boy every other second. He was just _so cute._

But then, the bell dings and the doors slid open to their floor. The boys walked down the hallway until they reached an open door with many boxes situated around and inside the doorway.

"Right here?"

He nodded again as they set down the boxes on top of other previously piled pieces of cardboard. "Thank you for helping; I appreciate it."

"It's really no problem." Chenle assured.

He gave an awkward smile in return before straightening up. "I need to go back down again to help get the rest of the stuff."

Chenle nodded, watching him begin to walk away, "See you later." he calls.

The other teen pauses and turns back around with a smile. "I'll see you." And then he's hopping onto the elevator and Chenle watches as he waved one last time before the doors slid shut. The sight of the doors closing reels Chenle back to the reality.

Oh right, Renjun.

He made his way to their shared apartment and closed the door, scanning the area even if no one else occupied the space other than him and Renjun. It was then that he remembered something crucial.

Chenle hit a palm to his forehead. Out of _all_ things.

"I didn't get his name."

—

Renjun marched home. He was ready to barge through the doors and start spitting fire, but then a little note taped on their door stopped him in his tracks. He reads it and unsticks the piece of paper before entering.

Chenle is craning forward on the couch, controller in hand smashing furiously in various patterns and a spoon sticking out from his lips.

Renjun heaved a sigh, shrugging off his jacket. "This is going to be the last time I let you bribe me with Moomin merchandise."

Chenle side eyes him from his game, triumph written all over his face. "Yeah, yeah."

He had stuck a note on the door last minute explaining how he'd buy whatever Moomin product Renjun would want to purchase next time when he couldn't find a good enough place to hide from the boy. Sometimes, his irritability at Chenle would match his red hair and Chenle found this entertaining. _Fire_ , he mutters to himself on occasion.

"Remind me next time."

"I would like it if I didn't remind you that you need to give me my weekly scolding, mom."

Renjun smacked Chenle's arm at the comment as the younger chuckled.

—

Around two weeks later, Chenle forgets about the boy, kept preoccupied with school work and helping Renjun manage the apartment. It was nearly evening too as the boys had begun to start cooking their dinner, though the calm atmosphere of mid-afternoon was suddenly cut short at the sound of a slam.

Chenle lay sprawled against the doormat, knocking in attempt to be let back in.

"Renjuuunn!" With the volume of his yelling, he knew everyone occupying their hallway could hear every word. He didn't care that much since he'd always been loud anyway. "You know I didn't mean it, please let me in!"

There was silence on the other side.

Chenle pressed an ear against the cool surface, deflating at the lack of noise. He slumped down and leaned his back against the door. "You need to let me in at some point."

Still nothing.

The boy groaned. He wasn't certain how long Renjun was going to keep this up, so might as well make use of his time out here. Chenle fished into his pocket for his phone; he could get a head start on his English essay and have the rough draft done a day early. The action sounded promising.

His smile dropped; his pocket was empty.

"Where'd my?" Chenle proceeded to pat down all his pants pockets. "I swear I put it..."

He trailed off, his mood dampening. The phone was still inside the apartment, probably laying around on the counter before Renjun decided to kick him out.

Chenle sighed, turning back to the door to continue whining, "Reennnjuuuunnn." I mean, what else could he do?

After a few seconds, he resigned to crossing his arms, drawing up his legs to rest them on his knees. "I'm gonna starve out here." he called, "I'll come back as a ghost and haunt the apartment and never let you touch your Moomin plushie!" Chenle waited for any reaction, but still nothing.

Defeatedly, the boy lay his forehead against his arms, muttering incomprehensible threats to Renjun's Moomin collection.

He heard a door open to his right, a faint, "Oh." echoing in the hall.

Chenle turned wearily at the sound and, much to his surprise, it was _him_.

He loomed above Chenle, stepping into the hallway from next door and looking as equally startled at seeing the other. Chenle held his breath, heart beat accelerating until he could hear it in his ears. He came from next door? Had he been living next to their apartment this entire time?

He held a hand up and smiled.

"Hi."

The boy makes no reaction, but then his face squishes up in that specific semi-smile he'd seen him adorn. "Hi." he replies. "Why are you out here?"

Chenle took that moment to look at his situation in the eyes of a stranger, and quickly arranged himself so he could at least try to give the impression that he did in fact have his life together. He laughed nervously.

"Umm, I may or may not have spilled sauce on Renjun's drawing? But it was an accident, I swear." Chenle waves his hands in front of him in emphasis. "He went and kicked me out anyway, that's why I'm here."

The other boy chuckled, the cute sound filtering to Chenle's ears.

"Has he done this before?"

"It's a first," Chenle shrugged. "but me spilling food on his drawing is a first too."

"Sorry, I can't help you, but I need to get going." The boy said, "Good luck with getting in."

Chenle nodded. "He'll let me in sometime; I'll try not to be bored out of my mind."

Soft butterflies fluttered within his stomach at the brunette's smile. He turned around then and made his way to the elevator. Chenle waved again, watching the boy awkwardly wave back before the doors were closing and Chenle found himself back to being overdramatic and miserable until Renjun opened the door.

—

"Hey, Renjun." Chenle looked up to the older boy on the couch, nipping lightly on the end of his pen. A few days passed by quickly since Renjun locked him outside the apartment. He was attempting to work on his essay, but something— or more like a certain someone —had been clouding his mind.

"Hmm?" Renjun doesn't look up, busy watching something on his phone. What he was watching exactly, Chenle didn't know.

"You know our neighbors next door? The recent ones?"

Renjun raises a brow and pauses the video. "The Park family? The ones who moved in a couple weeks ago?"

The younger teen reels, "You know them?"

Chenle's sudden interest in the family piqued Renjun's curiousity. "I talked to them a bit when I saw them moving in, but that's pretty much it. Why?"

He saw the younger teen deflate in his seat, "Umm.. Just—.... Just wondering."

Renjun contemplates his response, "Oh, did you meet that boy?"

Chenle physically jumps at the older teen's inquiry, cringing at himself for being so obvious. He knew his face was pink and it was simply at the thought of the other.

"..Yes...."

He hears Renjun gasp, "Does Zhong Chenle have a crush on the boy next door?"

"What, no!" Chenle's face flushed red. "I literally have only seen him around here and there, that's all," He couldn't hide the fact that his cheeks were darkening.

"That doesn't mean you _don't_ have a crush on him already."

Chenle buries his face in his hands. "Oh my god."

Renjun continued to tease him, much to his distress. "He has a cute face; I understand why you fell for him so quickly." He laughed until his face was mere inches from being hit by a flying pillow.

That action quickly escalated to a full-on pillow fight with the couch cushions, both too focused on getting the other to care about finishing their conversation. Chenle thanked whoever mighty being was up in the clouds at the moment for the distraction; Renjun teasing him about his crushes was the last thing he wanted in the time he'd spend on earth.


	2. jisung park

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied this is actually longer than the first chapter?? Surprising I know lmao
> 
> I'm really sorry for my months late update hahah/// I'm not giving up on this story, I'm mostly sure, because I already have the entire thing planned out, it's just I kinda got uninterested in the Dream kids and started to get more interested in other stuff yada yada school yada yada
> 
> Enough blabbering, I hope you enjoy!! ;))
> 
> P.S. the dream kids are going to comeback soon and i can already feel my hyper excitement !! ! !

"It's cold!" His exclamation reverberates across the tiled floors of the swimming pool, hand retracting quick from the chilled water.

"Of course it is." Renjun stands near the doors, wrapped up in his own towel and looking ready to go back. "What did you expect, Chenle?"

"Awww, come on. We just got here."

They had a free Friday afternoon and Chenle decided he wanted to try going to the indoor pool in their apartment. It wasn't an overly extravagant pool, but it was nice enough to include its own jacuzzi in the corner. He shifted over to the small tub and dipped a hand in.

"The jacuzzi isn't warm at all." Chenle pouts.

"See?" Renjun comments, "Let's head back."

Chenle wonders how the older boy even ended up agreeing to go downstairs with him. But then he remembers something had broken with their heater in their apartment a few days ago. Thus, resulting in their once warm and cozy apartment to become the equivalence of a frozen igloo.

Suddenly, an idea emerged from his mind, corners of his mouth upturning at the thought. He made his way back near the edge of the pool.

"Hey, Renjun."

"Hmm?"

"Come over here."

Renjun raised a brow. "What is it?"

"Just come over here."

As the older teen walked up next to him, Chenle pointed to something on the wall. "Look at that."

"What? Look at wh—"

Chenle acted quick with the short distraction, scooping up a healthy amount of the chlorine water and up heaving all of it right onto Renjun's already shivering frame.

The older boy froze as Chenle took a few steps away, mouth covered to keep his giggles to a minimum. Like a broken clock hand, Renjun rotated in his spot, death written as clear as day on his face.

"Chenle."

The younger teen took that as the cue to run away.

" _Chenle_!"

His dolphin laughter flooded the room, nearly slipping on a wet tile when rounding the corner. Renjun proceeded to chase after him, not quite minding the thought of falling if it meant he could get his much-needed revenge.

—

Chenle frowned and walked out of the room with wet, heavy steps. His body shivering relentlessly from the cold.

"You didn't need to shove me in the pool too." The younger whines with his arms wrapped around himself.

"First of all, you shoved me in first." Renjun states.

Chenle eyes his towel enviously. "That wasn't fair; you have a towel."

"Then maybe you should've brought your own."

The younger teen grumbled under his breath.

Both boys begun to walk back to the lobby. Going to the pool wasn't helpful at all to warming either of them up; Chenle's initial plan to relax in the warmth of the jacuzzi long gone. He figured it was worth trying anyway compared to staying inside their apartment.

As they made their way down the hall, the teens walked past the indoor dance room. Chenle perked up at the sound of music being played, taking note that the door wasn't closed all the way. Renjun walked ahead, but the younger teen took a peak inside.

Someone was dancing in the middle of the room, encompassed by the strong rhythm of the music. The heavy pop beat resounded loud and clear within the walls to the point in which he could physically feel the vibrations in his ribs. Chenle could definitely say that the person was pretty experienced with how sharp and fluid they were. He stared in awe. It wasn't until the person spun around to change the direction of the dance that he realized something.

He felt his heart catch in his throat.

It was _him_.

Chenle wanted to scream at how slow he was. He was about to back away and pretend that he was not just secretly gawking at the other boy's dancing, but then he hears Renjun step up beside him.

"Who's that?" Although he whispered, Chenle immediately knew it was not quiet enough.

The boy stopped dancing and Chenle's soul exits his body.

 _He heard_. A sort of panic overtakes him as he covers Renjun's mouth, dragging both him and the older teen behind the wall and out of sight. The dancing boy had surely turned around to make sure he was hearing correctly.

Renjun furrows his brows and pries the younger's hand off him, reprimand ready on his lips, but Chenle is severely shaking his head. He held an index finger firm against his own mouth and the older boy stays quiet.

They stayed like that until Chenle heard a shift from inside the room and the steps resumed. He let out a breath he had been holding in. Both teens then snuck past the door frame to the lobby, Chenle not missing the opportunity to steal one last glance inside before leaving.

—

"Hellooo, earth to Chenle."

The younger boy snapped out of his thoughts. "Wait, could you repeat that?"

Renjun cleared his throat with an excessive and annoyed flair, considering this was probably the fifth time he had tried to get his attention. "As I was saying, will you ever care to explain to me why seeing that boy down there freaked you out as much as it did?"

Chenle deadpans. "Well, first thing's first, we almost got caught looking like complete stalkers."

"So?" Renjun casually replies. "We could've just walked in and explained ourselves."

"Mmmm." Chenle ponders. "I wouldn't want to introduce myself like that though, I feel like it should be more...one-on-one."

"Oh? So you are making plans on meeting with this guy?"

Chenle is quick to reply. "What? N—No. It's not like I want to meet him or anything."

Renjun scoffs. "You're a terrible liar."

He replies with his own exaggerated scoff, "Am not."

"Sure." He says, "I can't believe you're still thinking about him."

Chenle blushes. "I'm not."

"See, terrible liar."

" _Fine_ , yes, I am thinking about him."

"Gosh, My own baby brother, growing up and finding love for the boy next door." Renjun's all laughs at his dramatic, teasing display, honestly finding the entire situation a bit cute, if not, cheesy.

Chenle nearly chucks his phone at him.

"It's not even that, he was just dancing _so well_." He reimagined the fluidity and sharpness of the brunette's dance. It wasn't everyday you'd see someone with experience actually utilizing the dance room. Or at least, the two would never be around to witness those certain people go practice since they rarely go down to the fitness areas of the first floor in the first place.

"I didn't get to see much since you dragged me down." Renjun comments dryly.

"You were too loud, Renjun."

Although he did bring up a good point, Renjun makes a sound at Chenle's direct call out. "Says the person constantly yelling and screaming everywhere you go."

Chenle is ready to retort to the older boy's remark, but he beats him to it.

"Anyway, are you ever gonna get his name?"

"I know." The younger boy deflates. "I want to, but I just keep forgetting."

"I mean, why don't you?" Renjun points out. "They live right next door."

"What do you mean?" His implications made Chenle's heart skip a beat.

"I think it's worth a try, since you're so interested in this one. We can try and visit them tomorrow if they're not busy."

Chenle has to grip his chair to keep himself from falling. "Really? I mean, we can't just do that though it's—"

"Chenle, if you really want to meet him, you should take this opportunity. Their family is very nice, so I doubt they'll say no." Renjun points out, fizzing out the other's argument. "Plus, they don't have a broken heater."

Chenle nods. "Yeah, you're right."

"We can leave around two tomorrow since it's Saturday. If they're not home we can try again later." He says, "And make sure you look nice."

Chenle smiles at the elder's retreating back.

"Thanks, Renjun." He barely muttered out loud as the other boy slipped into the short hallway rounding their bedrooms.

—

"I change my mind, I want to stay."

Renjun sighs in exasperation. He had a hand to the door, ready to go next door to pay a visit to the object of Chenle's recent obsession. Said boy sat adamantly on the couch and Renjun dragged himself over to look at him with as much dejection in his expression as he could muster.

"Who was it fawning yesterday about wanting to meet the boy of their dreams? Well, he's right next door. Not everyone is this lucky."

The younger teen made a face, "I never said it like _that_."

"You basically did."

"No—"

"Chenle, I know you really want to meet him so we're both going to go there." he states, "Any more time in this apartment is going to give me a permanent headache."

His pout makes him look like a kicked puppy,—classic—but Renjun stands his ground.

They stare unblinking at each other for a whole ten seconds before Chenle gives in with a sigh. "Okay, okay, I can do this."

The older teen made his way out the door and Chenle hesitantly padded after him.

The wait after he knocked was excrutiating. Chenle was unsure if his nervousness was because he could possibly meet the boy and actually talk to him or because he did not want to be doing this at all. His feet were about to take him back to their apartment, but then the door opened.

"Oh. Hello."

A middle aged woman stood at the door, presumably the boy's mom. She was pretty and had kind features, not looking a day over thirty.

Chenle stares in awe. _'Maybe that's where his looks came from.'_

"Hello, we're your neighbors next door." Renjun bows his head and Chenle follows his action. "Our heater broke just recently and we were wondering if it was okay if we stayed at least a few minutes in your apartment?"

He continued, "Although, I totally understand if you don't want visitors; we don't want to seem imposing."

Chenle nodded along with Renjun's phrasing, hopeful of the lady's response.

"Oh, no. Please, come in." She smiled warmly, opening the door wider to allow them room to step in.

"Thank you so much." Both teens bowed again and entered.

"Poor boys." She held a hand up to her mouth.

Chenle was pleased to see that their apartment was well kempt and tidy, compared to his and Renjun's mess of an apartment. In the living room, two people crowded around an incomplete cabinet. It seemed they were putting it together. One of the people turned around and Chenle swallows nervously.

The boy was there and he seemed to be surprised too, by the way his eyes widened. He was wearing a white-striped shirt that looked a size too large on his frame and simple black sweatpants. In conclusion, he was still as cute as the last time he saw him.

"Why don't you make yourself at home?" She smiles, leading them to sit on the couch. "I can prepare some hot chocolate if you would like."

"I'm good, but thank you." Renjun nods.

Chenle raises his hand. "I would like one, actually."

"Excuse me for a minute." She said, beginning to walk to the kitchen for the task.

"Could I have one too?" The boy raises his hand, but she gives a disapproving frown.

"Jisung, please make your own."

 _Jisung_. Chenle mutters under his breath. _'So that's his name.'_

"Whaaat, why?" Jisung slumps down with disappointment.

"These are guests." His mother seethes. "If you want some, go make your own."

"Ahh, stingy."

There's a brief pause as Jisung's mother disppears into the kitchen and the four were left to their own devices. It was strange how he had basically been dreaming about the boy the past few weeks and now he was just there.

The older male beside him turns towards them.

"Hello, I'm sorry we forgot to introduce ourselves." He says, "You can call me Mr. Park, just now was my wife, and this here's my son, Jisung."

Though he spoke formally and had a sharper edge to his voice, the familiar soft lilt of his tone matched that of his wife's.

"Jisung's older brother isn't here right now, but I know he would be happy to meet our neighbors."

They shook hands and Chenle watched the boy fidget with a wrench from behind.

"My name is Renjun." The older boy says.

"I'm Chenle." He adds.

"It's lovely meeting your family." Renjun smiles.

"How about you two sit down?"

Renjun and Chenle made their way to the longer sofa, seating themselves comfortably on the plush cushions.

"Jisung, why don't you talk to them?" The brunette tenses from his suggestion. "Go on, I need to finish the cabinet."

Jisung opens his mouth, probably a complaint on his tongue, but he closes his mouth and awkwardly shifts to sit on the couch across the two other boys.

"Hi." He musters.

"Hi." Renjun replies.

Chenle feels a sharp jab at his side. "Oh, hey."

The younger is about to start with a basic conversation starter, but Renjun beats him to it. "You guys have a really nice apartment; compared to ours, this place looks like a luxury house."

Chenle snickered. He wasn't wrong. While the two weren't horrendously messy people, compared to the neat and tidiness of Jisung's family space, theirs looked like a complete dumpster.

Jisung smiles. "This is just because of my mom, you can't say the same for my room."

Renjun nods. "So, what grade are you in? I'm a junior."

"Tenth, I'm in my second year."

"Really?" Chenle feels ecstatic to hear that the other boy is near the same age. "I am too!"

"Wow, you guys have so much in common already!" A tug of a smirk is at the corner of Renjun's mouth and Chenle resists the urge to push him off the couch.

"So, what do you like to do?" Chenle asks. He's sure he knows the answer but he asks anyway.

Jisung's face lights up at the inquiry. "I really like...dancing."

"Oh, dancing?" Chenle feigned his shock.

"Yeah, it's what I usually do in my free time."

"That's cool! Could you show us something you know?" Renjun pipes up.

Jisung's face deflates and Chenle sees him mentally dig himself back into his bubble. "Oh, no. I—I'm not that great."

Chenle almost rebukes his self-deprecating claim, wanting to bring up the fact that he was quite the opposite, but he then remembered that doing so would expose himself of peeping at his dancing the other day.

"Aw, come on, Jisung." Mr. Park says in between nailing down a board. "You dance so well! It wouldn't hurt to show them a little something."

Jisung shakes his head. "No, I really don't want to..."

"Well, that's okay." His dad smiles, "Jisung has always been pretty shy around new people."

"Huh." Chenle takes note of this characteristic.

Suddenly, a hard bang resounded in the room, along with a loud, "OW!".

The three turned to Jisung's dad, who was currently cradling a red thumb against his stomach.

"Are you alright, Mr. Park?" Renjun gets up from the sofa, Chenle following suit.

"I'm alright, just a little scratch." Although a laugh spills from his throat, the grimace behind his grin is evident in his features.

Renjun was quick to situate himself next to the older male, eyes searching the floor for instructions. "Let me help out."

"I can help too." Chenle pipes up, raising a hand.

"Dad, you need me to help again?" Jisung inquires.

"No, no, you two are guests, and Jisung, you're taking a break."

" _Please_ , I insist." Renjun offers a kind smile. Mr. Park looks hesitant, taking a small moment in consideration before eventually giving in.

He sighed. "Alright, thank you."

"What can I do?" Chenle asks.

Renjun ponders for a second. "I think we'll be fine, you two can keep talking."

It was a soft, half-second action that could've been missed with the blink of an eye, but Chenle is sure the other teen had winked. He wrapped his fingers around each other out of nervousness. There was nothing to worry about though. It's not like Renjun had left the room or anything, but now it was just him and Jisung.

He inhaled. _'Okay.'_

Only a beat after Renjun's suggestion was when Mrs. Park walked into the living room with a steaming mug in hand and a kind smile on her face. It was strange, but Jisung's mother bared a slight resemblance to his own mom in the way that she would bring him hot tea on a cold winter day like this to soothe his worries and colds. As she handed him the mug, he thanked her with a warm smile.

The kindess their family possessed thus far warmed Chenle's insides faster than any hot beverage could.

Plus, the small distraction was very much appreciated.

He took a sip and backed off. It was still hot.

"What about you?"

Jisung speaks up and it rattles him for he realized he should probably speak now.

"Huh?"

"What do you like to do?"

"Oh, I really like singing." Chenle grinned.

Jisung's eyebrows raise in interest. "Do you take lessons?"

"I used to when I was younger. I don't take lessons currently because my family's back home in China and it would just be too troublesome."

"Why did your family go back?"

"Family reasons. Renjun's parents and my parents are pretty close, so they went back to China together."

Jisung tilted his head. "Wait, so you guys are living by yourselves right now?"

Chenle nodded.

Jisung's parents exchange glances.

"That's awful." Mrs. Park says. "How are you two living by yourselves? Please, you two can live here in the mean time until your parents come back."

"Oh, no, no. We're fine, really." Renjun waves his hands. "Chenle's parents are good friends with the landlord, so the landlord's keeping up with the bills and our apartment while they're gone."

"Okay, that's good news. I'm glad to know you two are in good hands." Mr. Park nods.

"How is it like living by yourselves?" Jisung leans in slightly, curiousity sparkling in his eyes.

"It's not much different." Renjun shrugs.

"Yeah, it really isn't. The apartment next door is Renjun's family's apartment and I generally came over so much, so I was practically living there already." Chenle explained heartily.

Jisung's expression shifted slightly at the mention of this information, but Chenle thought nothing of it. He turned to sip at the hot chocolate. Still just a tad bit hot.

"It sounds to me like a constant slumber party for you two." Mrs. Park smiles.

Chenle laughs at the comment. "Yeah, we're pretty comfortable by ourselves."

Mr. Park laughs suddenly. "Poor Jisung won't be moving out anytime soon if it means he'll be alone; He's scared of too many things."

"Dad." Jisung mutters, embarrassed.

Chenle finds it cute, but he knew full well he had no right to poke fun at this, his mind having been equipped with its own set of mind-consuming fears.

The hammering and shifting of wood came to a stop with the last tack of a nail. Chenle turned to see Renjun and Mr. Park step back from a now completely assembled cabinet. It hadn't taken them long to finish the project, which surprised him just slightly, considering the fact that only the base had been built when they came over.

"We assembled this pretty well." Mr. Park nodded. "Thank you for helping me, Renjun. I must owe you something."

"It's okay." The older boy smiled. "Your family allowing us to stay inside your house is plenty enough."

Mr. Park refused to back down though. "Still, there must be something I can pay you back with."

"Oh!" Mrs. Park's face lit up. "What about the boys' heater?"

"My, you're right." He said. "I can try and fix it for you two, if you don't mind."

Renjun just couldn't refuse the kind man's offer to fix their much needed heater issue. He had tried to look into it himself and searched up how to fix a broken heater, but he had to admit he was afraid of tampering with the dials and switches in the case he would make an already ill situation worse. And one less day of sleeping in freezing temperatures sounded plenty good in his mind.

"No, we don't mind at all." Renjun said. "Chenle?"

"Nope."

"Why don't we get going then?" Mr. Park suggested.

"Right." Renjun nodded. "Chenle, you wanna come?"

The younger teen downed the rest of his hot chocolate in one go before running over to the two by the door. While he did prefer staying to talk to Jisung longer, he knew he should come and see the heater situation to help the two out. He waved to Jisung and his mother.

"We won't take long."

The three entered the apartment and Mr. Park immediately commented.

"It's _freezing_ in here." He shuddered, grasping his arms. "How did you two live like this for the past few days?"

Chenle shrugged.

Mr. Park sought for the heater and upon a minute long inspection of the back paneling and the surface, he got to work, tweaking a few valves and checking to see no leaks were evident. With one more small shift of another valve and applying the back paneling into place, he pulled away, dusting himself off.

"It should work now." He said, leaning over to round the dial to on.

Chenle and Renjun pressed flat palms near the vents and grinned in excitement at the sensation of heat against their fingertips.

"How did you fix it?" Chenle asked.

"There were a few valves loose and one was just slightly misaligned. It was enough to cut your heat off though, so it's good to watch out for that in the future."

"We really appreciate you helping us; now we can sleep here without freezing up." Renjun replied.

Mr. Park laughed. "That wouldn't do."

Once the three returned to the neighboring apartment, Chenle took immediate notice of his missing cup. Mrs. Park had most likely taken it to the sink. A small glance to the kitchen proved his assumption correct for Mrs. Park was already washing the mug.

Jisung sat comfortably on one side of the couch, thumbing idly at his phone screen, but looking up and pocketing his phone once they entered the room.

Renjun clasps his hands together. "It's been great staying with your family, but I think we should leave now since our heater is fixed."

"Oh, you two are leaving?" Mrs. Park perks up, wiping her hands on a hanging kitchen cloth.

Chenle takes quick note of Jisung stiffening slightly at the mention of their leave.

"But it was really fun staying with you guys." Chenle says, sparing a glance at the brunette on the couch.

"Yes, and thank you for everything. Especially for fixing our heater."

"That's no problem." Mr. Park smiles. "Just know you two are welcome to come back here if you want; Jisung needs some friends his age too."

Chenle watches said boy pout behind the older male.

"We'll keep that in mind." Renjun makes eye contact with Chenle then, implication clear in his eyes.

"Goodbye!" Renjun waved.

"Bye, Mrs. Park, Mr. Park." Chenle smiled. "Bye, Jisung!"

The brunette appeared surprised that he had addressed him and he found it adorable. Chenle caught his shy smile and wave before turning away from the door to walk to his and Renjun's apartment right next door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Park family makes their appearance!! I'm not completely sure how apartment and landlord stuff like this are dealt with in real life, but please just bare with me needing convenient plot device.....
> 
> I'm really aiming for a slow afternoon, slice-of-life feeling with this fic so that's why it's very slow burn and it's probably boring a lot of you lol. The next chapter has chensung interactions for a good portion though! (^^)bb
> 
> Also don't expect quick updates with this story (which i know you guys have learned by now..,,,) because I'm a really slow(and lazy) writer and I apologize...///..////
> 
> Okayy, I really need to stop talking, I'll see u guys next time I update! *finger guns*

**Author's Note:**

> this will honestly be the longest chapter in this story lmao,, i hope u guys enjoyed it!! <33 i'll be explaining more things next chapter, ty!!


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